Diogo Jota looked up to Cristiano Ronaldo as a child. He would go on to call the legendary Portugal player a teammate and win some of the biggest trophies in soccer during a career that catapulted him to the pinnacles of the sport.
Jota, the forward for Liverpool who celebrated winning the Premier League title in May, passed away. He was twenty-eight.
According to the police, Jota and his soccer-playing brother Andre Silva perished in a car accident close to the northwest Spanish city of Zamora.
After leading Liverpool to a record-tying 20th English league title and winning the UEFA Nations League with Portugal alongside Ronaldo, he had just finished his most successful season to date.
Not at all logical. Ronaldo said on social media, “We were together in the National Team just now.”
Diogo Jose Teixeira Da Silva was born in Porto, Portugal, on December 4, 1996.
His skill as a clinical goal scorer propelled him from modest beginnings with his hometown team, Gondomar, to the grandest stages of soccer, Liverpool and Portugal.
He had a childhood desire of playing soccer professionally. However, he had to overcome obstacles and show himself at lower levels before landing a transfer to Liverpool in 2020, so his path to the top was not easy. During his tenure at Anfield, he went on to win the three main titles in English soccer.
When I was sixteen, I was still paying to play football, Jota stated at a 2020 Web Summit session.
From a young age, he had a liking for soccer. When he was a youngster, he would beg his father to let him play instead of sending him to swimming lessons that conflicted with practicing sessions.
Before a move to the Spanish powerhouse Atletico Madrid appeared to be his big break, he joined the obscure Portuguese outfit Pa os de Ferreira from Gondomar.
It was, in a sense, but the transfer did not go as planned.
Jota was transferred on loan to Porto and then Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he would establish himself in England and eventually catch Liverpool’s eye, but he never played a competitive game for Atletico.
When Jota joined Wolves on a season-long loan in 2017, the squad was in the second division. He was reunited with Nuno Espirito Santo, who had been his coach at Porto the season before.
Nuno scored nine goals for Porto after Jota made an impact on him, and he returned the favor by doubling that total as Wolves won the Championship and were promoted to the Premier League in his debut season.
The goals continued to come in. Ten years following their promotion to the world’s most popular league, England’s top flight, and sixteen the following season.
Liverpool, who had just won the championship, soon called.
Jota claimed that the move, which was worth 41 million pounds ($56 million), could not be refused.
It’s simply unreal for me to be joining a team like Liverpool, the world champions, after my entire journey since I was a child,” he remarked.
Manager Jurgen Klopp acknowledged that Jota, who was 23 at the time, had a lot of potential but was far from being a finished product.
With Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah in front of him, Jota had a difficult time getting playing time in the 2020–21 campaign.
But now that he was on the big stage at Anfield, Klopp explained to him what was required of him.
He was unambiguous. In an interview with Sky Sports, Jota stated, “I was there to challenge the front three to not be happy with being a substitute player who comes on.” Being around the top players makes you better, so I knew that playing with them would help me advance and gain a spot on the squad.
He most definitely did.
He scored eight minutes into his Premier League debut for Liverpool in a 3-1 victory over Arsenal, making an almost instant impression. In addition to further goals against other fierce rivals like Manchester United, there was a hat trick at Atalanta in the Champions League.
Even if Liverpool lost the title, his 13 goals in his debut season was a respectable return.
The next year, he improved that score to 21 as Liverpool finished second in the Premier League and Champions League and won the FA Cup and English League Cup.
Jota’s game-winning goal against Everton in April, his final for the team, was essential in propelling Liverpool to the Premier League title last season.
Jota played in 182 games for Liverpool and scored 65 goals overall.
After winning the Premier League, he and Ronaldo won the Nations League in June. This was his second time lifting the trophy, having done it in 2019. He scored 14 goals and received 49 caps for his nation.
He joyfully held the trophy while posing for pictures on the field following the Nations League final.
After the UEFA Nations League final three weeks ago, I had the privilege of awarding Diogo Jota a medal. It was a moment of pride, joy, and celebration that will now be etched in memory with sadness forever,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin stated. Everyone around him was inspired by his enthusiasm, vigor, and attitude on the field. The idea that a life so full of promise and happiness was gone far too soon is heartbreaking.
In addition to these historic events, Jota just married Rute Cardoso, his longtime partner and the mother of their three children, on June 22.
In a social media post including photos from their wedding day, his wife said, “Yes to forever.”
Klopp expressed his grief.
There must be a greater goal! On social media, he wrote, “But I can’t see it.” “In addition to being an amazing footballer, Diogo was also a wonderful friend, a devoted husband, and a father!
You will be sorely missed!
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https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson is the handle of James Robson.
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